Put the blame on Mame
by me.fergie
Summary: Chicago, Manhattan, San Francisco, the Yukon Gold Rush... now Miami? It's Halloween, after all, and with a woman called Mame, chances are that there's something to the crimes science cannot explain. RyanOCfriendship. More in AN
1. Chapter 1

**Long AN**: So, this is my new story. Few things you need to know. First, this story has not yet been beta'ed. My betas are both busy, but I wanted the story to be up for Halloween (at least the first chapter). So, for once, you have to read it without it having been proof read. I tried to sound as English as I can, and sort out all the typos, but things happen. As soon as my girls have the time again, you'll get perfect chapters. Second, before you read this story, you might wanna either check the song out ("Put the blame on Mame" can be found on Youtube, in both versions. First the guitar one, then the night club one) or at least check out the lyrics to it. It might help you understand Nicole in this chapter. Now, off to the story ^^

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI Miami, or Gilda, or the Song _Put the blame on Mame_. Inspiration hit me again. I do own Mame herself though, and Nicole, of course, and Ann Evans. Also Ron as portrayed here is mine, although the idea of Ron belongs to CBS.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Now, look at this, Natalia! That's what I call drop dead gorgeous!" Nicole Ferguson leaned against the wall next to the girls' dressing room Natalia Boa Vista was just leaving.

Natalia looked and smiled, "Well, yeah, he's… pretty attractive."

From inside the dressing room, an annoyed voice said, "Ladies, I'd like to see it too." Natalia opened the door for Maxine Valera. When Valera saw what her two best friends were looking at, she grinned, "Well, not exactly my type, but I wouldn't say 'no' to him… Mr Wolfe, what's the occasion?"

Ryan, who had acted cool and pretended not to hear the girls, now turned to them. He was wearing a tuxedo and his hair was neatly styled. "Thank you, ladies. I do appreciate the nice words." Then he sighed, "My uncle is throwing a party. Something fancy, you know, with dress code and everything. And all I want to do is go to bed and sleep!"

Nicole shook her head, "Believe me, you don't. You wanna go to that party."

Ryan gave her a look, "Is there something I should know? Did Ron invite some girls for me again? Or is it about his job?" Uncle Ron was a safe cracker, and more than once Ryan had been invited to parties only used by his uncle to check out possible victims. Nicole, who barely knew his uncle, was good friends with Ron's girlfriend, and if she said something like this, it meant she knew something he didn't. "Tell me."

She only shrugged, "I don't know anything. You drive, right?"

"Where to?"

"To Ron's. I plan to drink tonight."

Ryan frowned, "You're invited, too?"

"Sure. Ann asked me already ages ago. I'm just waiting for you to go home with me so that I can change and leave the car there."

"Yeah, right, so that you can get totally drunk on the champagne? Again?"

"Exactly."

Ryan shrugged, "Oh well. At least you're funny then."

"I know. And if some of the girls your uncle invites for you annoy you too much, you can pretend I'm your girl."

"Deal."

* * *

They arrived at the location of the party half an hour later. Nicole had changed into a long, pale green dress that for once went good with her red hair. Ryan opened the door for her, "I have to say that you look great. Seriously, I mean, normally you just look…"

She gave him a look, "Yes?"

He blushed, "Well, you know, normally, you wear those… now you… Can we go in?"

She laughed, "Yes, please. But I appreciate the compliment. You look super snazzy, too. If only you wouldn't talk such rubbish." She entered the big hall.

Ryan, wiping the sweat from his forehead, followed. The first person he recognized was his sister, Deborah. "Oh, no."

"What?" Nicole asked while reaching out for a glass of champagne.

"The woman in the trouser suit. That's my sister."

Nicole made a grimace. "If I had known we can wear trouser suits, I wouldn't wear this awful dress now. You don't sound too happy she's here."

"Well, let's just say we're not on good terms. Plus, she doesn't like Ann." Ryan quickly scanned the room to check if other members of his family were there. And yes, in fact, he found who he was looking for. "That woman over there. In the black dress. That's my mother."

But Nicole had already noticed somebody else. "The man next to her. That's your father." Ryan only nodded. "Damn it. If you look like him once you're old, I'm definitely going to marry you. Where's the waiter with the champagne?"

"Here, young lady." The soothing voice of Ryan's uncle Ron was followed by a hand which held a glass of champagne. "I ordered some extra bottles, just for you, Nicole."

Nicole turned to Ron, "I'm definitely going to marry you, Ryan. Not only will you look great once you're old, you have an uncle who has champagne. Thanks, Ron. Where's your lovely girlfriend?"

"Probably right next to the other bottles."

"That's a good place to be. I'll see you later, Ryan." Nicole wandered off to look for Ann.

Ryan turned to Ron, "What is my father doing here?"

"It's gonna be a special day today, and I wanted your mother to be there. And I couldn't invite her over without saying she could have a Plus One, so, she brought him. I hope it's alright. I told him that if he tries shit around my nephew, I'm going to drown him in the pool."

"Yeah, don't worry. I mean, I don't worry about him anyways. After all, we sort of buried the past. I'm just worried about Nicole. You know, I already don't like the fact that my team knows about what he did to me. She's my best friend, and if she finds out, I fear it'll make things complicated between us."

But Ron shook his head. "Don't worry about that. In a few minutes, Nicole and Ann will be totally wasted, and you can be happy if she remembers who she came with. In the meantime, I want to introduce you to somebody. Where is she?"

Ryan had to suppress a groan, "Ron, please, I had a rough day with half a dozen dead bodies from a car accident, I'm really not in the mood to meet a girl tonight."

"Believe me, Ryan. When you see this woman, you will be in the mood for much more!" He looked around. "Ah, there she is. The woman in the long red dress."

Ryan checked out the woman Ron was pointing at. And yes, his uncle had been right. She was gorgeous. Long reddish blond hair, flowing in soft curls over her shoulders. She was wearing a red dress that matched beautifully with her hair colour, gloves and high heels. Her green eyes sparkled. Ryan caught himself saying, "Wow. Jesus, Ron, where did you find that woman?"

Ron grinned, "I knew you'd like her. Let's say… she's the daughter of one of my 'clients'."

"And you want me to help you?"

"Nah, don't worry. I have Ann to help me with the guy. I want you to meet her because she's special. So, you go, bring her a glass of champagne and talk to her, while I'm trying to figure out how I can keep Nicole away from you."

"What do you want me to talk to her about?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "Seriously, you should be old enough to know how this works. Now go!" He literally shoved Ryan over to the woman.

Ryan gave him a look, but then got hold of the first glass of champagne he could find and walked over to her. She turned to him even before he had reached her, and smiled at him. Ryan smiled back, "Hey. I'm Ryan Wolfe. Ron's nephew. I thought you looked kinda thirsty, so… here." He held out the glass for her to take it. By now, he had already started blushing a bit. He hated chatting women up.

But her smile only became bigger, "Hey, Ryan. Nice to meet you. I'm Mame Collins." She took a sip of the champagne. "And yes, I was rather thirsty."

"There's more champagne, you know. If my workmate doesn't drink all of it, that is." _Damn, what a gorgeous woman. Okay, Ryan, come on. You gotta stay cool. Hey, you got Natalia. She can't be that much more difficult. _"So, what brought you here?"

"My father and Ron are business partners. Actually, Ron invited him to come over; he was already busy tonight, so I came." She took another sip, and eyed him closely. "You're a cop or a soldier."

"Pardon me?"

"The way you talk, the way you move, the way you're standing there… cop or soldier." She tilted her head, waiting for him to answer.

And he did, "I'm a cop, yeah. You have a good eye. So, are you gonna tell me what you do for a living?"

"Sure. I work in my father's firm as an accountant." She looked over his shoulder. "That woman you came with, the noisy Brit., is that your girlfriend?"

Ryan turned around to see Nicole who was just hitting on some random waiter. "Nope. She's my workmate. Why do you ask?"

"Because it didn't look right to me. You don't look like you would put up with a girl like her."

Ryan felt immediately defensive. After all, Nicole was a close friend, and he wouldn't have that woman talk about Nicole like that, "She's a good girl, and one hell of a cop, and she could kick your ass anytime." _See, Ryan, that's why you don't have a girlfriend. _"No offense."

She smiled again, "None taken. It's nice to see that some men actually defend their friends. Would you like another glass of champagne?" As he nodded, she said, "We could have it outside on the balcony. I think it's a little crowded here…"

* * *

They made their way to the balcony. It was empty. Mame lit up a cigarette, "So, if you're here with your workmate, I suppose you don't have a girlfriend?"

Ryan shook his head, "You suppose correctly. Why?"

She shrugged, "I just avoid wasting time. You're quite good looking, you seem like a nice guy, and if you are available, I'd like to get to know you closer. But if you're not …"

Ryan frowned, "That's kind of straightforward…" He wanted to add something but was interrupted by the sudden noise inside. "What's happening?" As he glanced inside, he could see that Ron and Ann were standing in the middle of the large room, and everybody was cheering to them. "Mhm. Seems like something bigger is going on…" He saw Nicole standing a bit away from the crowd and waved her to come.

She came outside, "Now, isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever heard?"

"I didn't hear anything, what's going on?"

"They're getting engaged. A reason to celebrate. Where's that waiter with the champagne?" She looked around and saw Mame. "And you are?"

Mame reached out her hand, "I'm Mame Collins. And you are…."

But Nicole only grinned, "Mame? As in _Put the blame on Mame_?"

"Yeah. And believe me, I've heard the joke millions of times before today. You got a name, too?" Mame's voice was icy; it was obvious she didn't like Nicole from the first moment on.

But apparently the feeling was mutual, "Nicole Ferguson. And before you ask, yes, some people do call me _Fergie_, no, I don't mind, and yes, I am British."

"Wouldn't have guessed with that accent. I gotta tell you, nothing sounds as snobby as a Brit."

"Yeah, but at least we don't sound like we have a hot potato in our mouths." Nicole turned back to Ryan. "So, yeah, your uncle is getting engaged. You might want to go and say how happy you are before your new friend burns Chicago down. I'll be with Ann in the meantime…" She left the balcony without looking at Mame.

Ryan, who had with curiosity followed the conversation between the girls, now smiled, "My uncle is getting engaged. That is so cool."

"What an impolite little woman!" Mame shook her head.

"Nah, don't worry, she needs some time to warm up to people… I'll just go and talk to my uncle, yeah? I'll be right back."

"Yeah, sure. Hey, take this with you." She laid her hand around his neck and wrapped him up in a kiss.

Ryan returned the kiss after a moment of surprise. When Mame let go of him again, he only muttered, "I'm sure Ron will still be there in a few minutes…"

* * *

**Mh. She is straighforward. But something's odd about her, don't cha think? We'll see. Likey? **


	2. Chapter 2

A new Mame chapter. Again, this chapter has not been beta'ed. While my beta is back, she is busy, so I don't wanna give her too much work. I hope it's not that bad even without her help.

Now, Enjoy

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

The next morning, Ryan woke up to the ringing of his cell phone. When he checked his alarm, it told him he still had about half an hour to sleep. He groaned and answered the phone, "Yeah, it's Ryan."

"Morning Ryan, it's Natalia. Listen, I am sorry to wake you up that early, but we have a crime scene. Can you come over?"

He yawned, "Yeah, sure, I'll be there in an hour, that okay?"

"Thanks a lot." She gave him the address. "I'll see you there."

* * *

At the crime scene he was greeted with the rather peculiar smell of burned debris and flesh. Natalia was sitting on the sidewalk, sipping on a cup of coffee. She smiled when she saw him, "Hey, there. Great you're here."

"Sure. Can't we get in yet?"

She shook her head. "They haven't cleared the building yet. Should be done soon, though."

Ryan pointed a body lying close to the house, "The owner?"

Natalia shrugged, "Anyone's guess. They wouldn't let me or Tom go near it because they're afraid the building will collapse."

Ryan sat down next to her, "Who called it in?"

"Neighbours saw the building in flames a few hours ago. It took the firemen quite a long time to bring the fire under control."

"Aw, well, at least we weren't inside the building this time… How's your ear doing, by the way?"

Natalia yawned, "Yeah, everything's fine. The hearing aid really does its job. How about you?"

"Everything cool. My uncle's getting engaged… By the way, have you seen Nicole today?"

Natalia grinned, "I called her just before I called you. Apparently she's in a bad shape. Valera mentioned she had too much champagne yesterday. But she's trying to get Nicole out of bed."

Ryan nodded; he hadn't seen Nicole after the scene on the balcony. Frankly, he had been too occupied with Mame. They had said good-bye really early after Ryan had made sure Ron could drive Nicole home, and had spent about two hours in the car, talking and kissing. Then Ryan had brought Mame home and returned to his flat, immediately almost collapsing on his bed.

Now, Natalia got up, "The house is cleared. Let's go and see what Tom's got for us."

Tom Loman, who had up until now sat in his car, hurried over to the body. He started looking at it while Ryan took pictures of the house, and Natalia thanked the firemen for their work. Tom was working thoroughly. "I can't say a lot before I have it on my table, but my educated guess is that this…" He took a closer look, "…gentleman was alive when the house had burned."

"So he was burned alive?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, that's my educated guess. I can tell you more once I've seen his lungs."

"Alright. Call me, then. I'll be in the house with Natalia."

* * *

After having gone through the whole house, Natalia and Ryan sat outside again. Natalia started, "Okay, I think we can say that the house didn't just burst into flames."

"Not with the amount of accelerant we found." Ryan loosened his tie. "And I doubt that was an accident."

"Okay, so, the question that remains is whether we're talking arson or murder."

"Well, I gotta tell you, with a house burning at a time where inhabitants normally lie in bed, it sounds like murder to me. Wonder who lived here." They hadn't found an ID on the body, and nothing valuable in the house. "Frank already asking the neighbours?"

"Yep. He should be back soon with a name."

Ryan nodded, "So, I guess we're going back to HQ now."

* * *

At HQ, they were greeted with the sight of Nicole sitting in the break room. Ryan grinned and noisily sat down on the chair at her table. "Morning, Nicole. Have you had a good sleep?"

She didn't even raise her head, "If you don't want to die a slow and painful death, I suggest you shut your trap…"

He grinned, "Have you got a little headache?"

She moaned, "It's so loud outside… Everybody's breathing, the flowers are growing... I will never ever drink again…"

"And I thought you are a true Brit, with the booze and all that jazz… Seriously, you disappoint me."

She raised her head now. Ryan had to suppress laughter. She looked terrible. "I can handle a lot. Beer, that is. Not champagne…"

"I would strongly suggest you don't enter a beauty pageant today. How did you get home?"

"Ann called Valera who picked me up. I think that was about 3 hours ago. It sure feels like it. Now, beat it. You're too loud."

"I'm sorry to do this to you. I really am. Not. But we need you today. There's been…"

"…another murder. Leave me alone."

He handed her a cup of coffee, "Come on, you're gonna like it. It's very mysterious. A burning house. A burnt body. Many people to question. Come on, you cannot let Frank do all the work alone…"

"I'm sure Frank did work alone even way before I was born." She nevertheless grabbed the cup. "I shouldn't drink coffee. With all the champagne yesterday, it could get really ugly. Speaking of champagne. You left early. With Mame. Anything I should know?"

Ryan actually blushed a bit, "Well, no, not really. It's not really your business, is it?"

"It's not, but if you're blushing like a love sick kid, I'm definitely interested." While her face was still pale, there was a certain glint in her eye and an amused, if forced smile on her lips. "Come on, tell me."

He pondered about it for a second, but then decided that she was his friend and he could tell her, "Well, nothing special, really. I slept at home. We just kissed. A few times… Can you stop looking at me like this, please?"

The glint in her eye had turned into real amusement, "Come on, Ryan. That's great, I'm sure she's a nice woman. Although she didn't really appear like it." Then suddenly, she scratched her head, "Wait a second. You kissed?"

"Yeah."

"And today somebody burned to death?"

"Yeah…"

Now, even the paleness had gone from her face, "That is so funny. I need to work on that case. I'll get me some ibuprofen."

"What is so funny about it?" Ryan got up from the table and followed Nicole who headed to the Trace Lab.

"Oh nothing. Sure there wasn't a cow anywhere near the house?"

"I don't really know what you're talking about."

They reached Trace Lab, and Nicole opened the door. "Hey Mikey. What did happen when Mame kissed a buyer from out of town?"

Travers, standing next to Walter, raised his head, "You shouldn't come to work if you're still drunk."

But Walter grinned, "That kiss burned Chicago down." (1)

"Thanks, Biggie." She turned back to Ryan, "See the fun in it?"

Ryan frowned, "Oh yeah, you can see me lol-ing on the floor. In the meantime, has any of you two found out what accelerant was used in my case?"

"What? It wasn't a kiss?"

Ryan rolled his eyes, "No, Walter, it was not a kiss."

Walter grinned brighter and produced a sheet, "Then it might have been the gasoline."

"Thanks, Walter. So, judging by the amount of gasoline Natalia and I found in the house, the guy who did it must have purchased quite a lot of it. Nicole, call the stations around the crime scene, see if they had a big purchase during the last… 24 hours."

"Or we look for a lantern."

"What?"

Nicole just shrugged, "They say there's a possibility that a cow kicked a lantern back when Chicago burned down. That this started the fire."

"Will you stop this Chicago story?" Ryan shook his head and left the Trace lab again. Outside, he let out a big sigh. He would need to find out what they were talking about. And there was only one address he could go to to figure it out. So, he walked over to the DNA lab. Maxine Valera was maybe young, but she knew about all sorts of things. And since Walter and Nicole knew about it, it meant something classic. A book maybe.

He opened the door, "Hello, Maxine."

She only reacted a few seconds later, "Oh, yeah, right, that's me. What do you want?"

Ryan was puzzled, "How do you know?"

"In 5 years, you've never called me Maxine before."

"Oh. Okay, yeah. Yeah, I need some information."

Valera sat down on the nearest chair, "Information? On what? DNA? I thought you were a chemistry genius yourself."

"Not DNA, no. It's more… What do you think when you hear the name 'Mame'?"

Maxine answered immediately, "The song. _Put the blame on Mame_. From the movie, _Gilda_. A classic. How come you haven't seen it?"

"It does seem sometimes like I live in a cave. What's the song about?"

Maxine closed her eyes, "Well, Mame is a _femme fatale_, and the song tells you basically that she was at the origin of the Great Fire of Chicago, the Manhattan Blizzard, the San Francisco Earthquake, and the shooting of Dan McGrew. Because she's just that _fatale_. Why do you ask?"

Ryan sighed, "Your girlfriend and her big bro are making fun of me because I kissed this girl called Mame yesterday and now work on an arson case."

Valera looked at him for a few seconds, and then she started laughing, "Oh my God… That's really a coincidence! Yeah, sounds like something Nicole and Walter would love!" Then she added, still grinning widely, "Well if you like, they show the movie tonight at one of the smaller cinemas downtown. I actually planned on going there with Dave Benton. Why don't you join us? So you at least know why Nicole is making fun of you."

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to disturb you two…"

Valera shook her head, "This is not a date. Dave and I go to the movies every week, we love classics. If you feel uncomfortable with it, I'm sure the gang would like to join."

"The gang?"

"Nicole, Natalia, Walter, Travers… Maybe we can convince even Jesse. We could go clubbing after the movie. It's Friday night, after all."

"So that I can hear Nicole and Walter cracking jokes about me and Mame all night?"

"Yeah. So, you're in or out?"

Ryan sighed, "Aw, well, count me in. After all, it's Friday night, and I'm sure clubs are all Halloween themed already. Sounds like fun."

"You bet."

* * *

(1) First verse of _Put the blame on Mame_

_

* * *

_Hm. Has Mame really got something to do with that? Is she really so _fatale_ that her kiss can burn a house down? It's Halloween, after all... Stay tuned for more. And review, if you like._  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Yes, the usual "We're going out to party" chapter you find in all my stories. Mhm. Sounds like fun, going out on Halloween. We'll see to that :o)

Now, enjoy the chapter ^^

**Disclaimer: See chapter one. **

* * *

**Chapter Three**

After the movie, which apparently everybody but Ryan and Jesse had enjoyed, they went to the nearest club. It was indeed Halloween themed, which made the guys feel all the more uncomfortable, because Valera, Nicole and Natalia were the only ones who had dressed up.

Now Valera tuned to Dave, "See, you were making fun of me because I went to the movies like this. Now, it's my turn to make fun of you." She brought her cat ears back into place. "I might not if you pay me a drink."

Dave smiled, "Okay, consider yourself invited." The two wandered off.

Natalia nudged Nicole, "Do you really think the two are just friends?"

Nicole nodded, "Yeah. Dave is kinda hot, and Maxie has a terrible taste in men."

Natalia frowned, "You do realize she dated my ex husband?"

"You do realize you just agreed? Come on, let's dance. I take Walter as my dance partner."

Walter grinned at Travers, "Think you just lost your girlfriend to me."

Travers shrugged, "Ask me tomorrow who she went home with."

Walter blinked at him and said, "I always wanted to dance with Arielle the mermaid. I gotta say, those flippers look amazing. Can you sing, too?"

"Yeah, I made a hundred of ships crash due to my amazing singing voice."

"And shattered some glasses too, and killed many flowers…" Travers muttered under his breath. Nicole just gave him a look and walked off with Walter.

Ryan sat down at the counter next to Jesse. "Seems like it's just you, me and Travers tonight." But Jesse only took Natalia's hand and walked her over to the dance floor.

Travers took the seat to Ryan's left, "And here we lose our belly dancer. What did we do wrong?"

"We took guys with us that are too tall, I guess." He motioned to the man behind the counter for two beers. "So… any new theories on Trace?"

Travers frowned, "Many. But do you really want to talk about this, here?"

"I don't see anything else we could do."

Travers grinned, "I know very well that this could mean I'll be sitting alone here for the rest of the evening, but that girl over there has been checking you out since we've arrived."

Ryan turned around to see who the girl in question was. A smile appeared on his face, "That's Mame. Would you mind if I go over there?"

Travers sighed, "No, no. Just go. I'll talk with the man behind the counter. All it needs is a piano, a whisky and some smoke."

"Thanks, Travers." Ryan took his glass and walked over to Mame. "Hey. Sorry I didn't see you earlier."

"Yeah, you were too busy with your friends." She sounded amused, "Are these your workmates?"

Ryan sat down on the vacant chair next to her, "Yes, they are. We just went to see _Gilda_."

Mame rolled her eyes, "I knew the movie was on. Did your little, noisy friend drag you there?"

"Nah, she knew the movie already. Her best friend organized it. The movie wasn't that good, really." Ryan ordered himself another beer. "Can I offer you something?"

"A glass of red wine, please." She smiled. "So, you're having a good time?"

"And it's getting better by the minute… How have you been these last… 24 hours?"

She laughed, "Fine. Although I gotta say that this here is the best moment of this day." She gave him a seducing look. "Do you… plan to stay longer?"

Ryan shrugged, "If nothing else happens… You know… at my place…"

She took a sip of her wine and licked her lips. "Is there anything special at your place?"

"Not yet. But that might change during the course of the evening, who knows?"

She leaned forward, "Yeah… who knows?" She closed her eyes, awaiting a kiss, but Ryan was too distracted by what was just happening on the dance floor. Some guy had apparently tried to hit on Valera. She just shoved him away. He came menacingly closer, but walked off when Dave and Walter got in front of Valera. Mame followed Ryan's gaze, "Good to have such a big fellow with you…"

"Yeah, Walter's amazing. If only he would stop cracking jokes about my height."

Mame reached out for his hand, "Poor guy. But size doesn't matter…"

"Yeah, I know, it's all about the technique and..."

"What I meant was actually it's all about the inner spirit."

Ryan blushed, "Ah. Okay. Well… where was I earlier. Ah, yeah…" He smiled, "I think I was about to kiss you."

"I remember that…" She closed her eyes again.

Ryan was just about to kiss her when the same guy who had just bothered Valera stepped in between. "Yeah, man, that's what you think."

Ryan cocked an eyebrow, "Pardon me?"

The guy, who reminded him vaguely of Nick Townsend, grinned, "Yeah, fun's over, buddy. Make like a tree and beat it, and leave that young lady here to me."

Ryan scratched his head, "Do you remember the guys on the dance floor? The huge black guy? He's my mate. So, if you don't want any trouble, I suggest _you_ make like a tree." _Whatever that means…_

The guy, who had already laid an arm around Mame, turned back to Ryan, "Are you looking to get trashed tonight, little man?"

"Are you looking to get arrested tonight?" He had noticed that Walter and Dave had seen that the guy was a harassing them, and just waited for Ryan to sign them to come over. And, Ryan noticed as well that Travers on the other side of the counter had approached slowly, ready to stand up to the guy as well. "I would really advice you to just go and leave the lady here alone. Or else you might land in hospital tonight…"

By now, Mame had gotten up from her chair and said, "Ryan, that's very noble, but I don't need somebody to protect me." Then she said to the guy, "Look, I gonna put this nice. No. Not in a million years! No. Now, leave, before it's my heel up your ass."

The guy actually wanted to retort something, but by now Travers stood behind Ryan, and Walter and Dave had also approached close enough to look intimidating. So he just spat on the floor in front of Ryan and walked off.

Mame shook her head, "Drunken idiot."

Ryan resisted the urge to move away from the spat. "Yeah, indeed. Well… three's the charm. Should we try again?"

Now Mame smiled, "I'd love too." But this time she didn't even came as far as closing her eyes, when Walter patted Ryan on the shoulder, "Good job there, Shorty! That was a very unpleasant fellow." He turned to Mame, "Hello, I'm Walter Simmons."

"Mame Collins. I was just about to leave." She didn't even shake Walter's hand, but took Ryan's, "Could you walk me to my car? I am a bit scared that the guy might still be out there."

Ryan had never gotten of a chair that fast, "Sure, Mame. Can anybody drive the girls home?" As Dave nodded, he waved them goodbye and followed Mame, ignoring Walter's big grin.

* * *

An hour later, he was lying in Mame's bed. She had fallen asleep, cuddled to his chest. He sighed deeply. And here he had thought after he had finally broken up with Erica for good it would take more than a year to finally have some… nice moments again. But no. And Mame had been even tenderer than Erica. And more, there was nothing that suggested she wanted information from him. Or just sex. He closed his eyes and smiled; that felt so good. He looked down at her and planted a soft kiss on her hair. Maybe this could grow. He hoped it could. He would take it slow, but she made very clear that she was interested in him as well. Maybe, in due time, they could get together; in a few weeks or months, when they had gotten to know each other better, and were still interested in each other. Maybe. He put the blanket over her and protectively laid his other arm around her waist. Then he dozed off. Hopefully he could sleep in today. It was Saturday, after all. The city could take a break from producing dead bodies.

* * *

**Mh. Our Ryan is happy. But aren't there some dark clouds coming? Aren't there always? What will happen? Will the chump Mame gave an ice cold 'no' come back to haunt her? **

**Anybody seen _Shall we dance_? ? Omar Miller dancing? Great!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**And a new Mame chapter. Thanks for reviewing, guys and girls. You're amazing.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The call next morning came late, but it came. Ryan would have loved to smash his cell phone against the wall, but he took the call anyways, "Yeah, it's Wolfe."

"Morning, Shorty. It's Walter. We have a case. I can pick you up at your place."

"Err, no, that won't be necessary…"

Walter laughed, "Ah, I see, you got lucky tonight. So, you might just wanna come over here."

"Where is it?"

"The club where we were yesterday. DB in a freezer. You know what's funny?"

"There's something funny about that?"

"Yeah. The guy that harassed Valera yesterday? Deep Freeze."

_Mame gave a chump such an ice cold 'No'… for 7 days they shovelled snow…_ (1) Ryan moaned, "Does Nicole know already?"

"Yeah. I think she pulled a muscle while laughing."

"I'll be there in 30 minutes." He hung up and looked down at Mame, who had woken up and now looked back at him with her big eyes. "I'm sorry, I gotta go."

She sighed, "And I hoped we could have brunch… with desert. You know... I would like to see you naked. Like, all naked. Without the shirt."

Ryan froze, but managed to answer, "Ah, well… I'm sorry, but there's a DB out there that needs to be processed…"

"We could have a quickie under the shower…"

Ryan shook his head, "Some other time." _That goes of course for the brunch and the desert. Not for the shower or for taking my shirt off. _His scars had suddenly started itching again.

* * *

They hadn't stopped itching when he arrived at the club. He had only grabbed his kit at home, not bothering to change. Walter would tell them all where he had been anyways. When he saw Nicole's silver Merc standing on the parking lot, he sighed. _She'll never let me hear the end of it… _Next to it was Natalia's Hummer and Walter's car.

Nicole stood outside the club at the door with some patrols. When she saw him, she walked over to him, in her eyes a glint of sadness, "You didn't go home with Mame, did you?"

"I did go home with her. So what? Anything bad about that?"

"Wow, you're in a great mood."

Ryan shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to… She said something which… well anyways. I heard Valera's friend from yesterday is dead?"

"As can be… it looks as if he had been in a blizzard. _Remember the blizzard back in Manhattan…_" (1)

"See, this is why I was hoping you weren't there today."

She laughed, "Oh, come on, Ryan. I'm just kidding. But you gotta admit, it is a coincidence."

"Yeah, but just that. I stopped believing in this crap after that coffin disappeared. It makes life much easier."

Nicole remembered the case, "Didn't you actually start believing in that crap when the coffin disappeared?"

"We could explain it all. It's science, nothing more."

"Yeah, coffins turning into thin air can be explained by science. Anyways. The dead guy? He had it coming. I talked to the bouncers. Apparently he made some fuss here again long after we left. They had to throw him out."

"But apparently he got back in…"

Nicole nodded, "Natalia found out how. Backdoor window. It leads to the storage room where they keep the meat for their snacks. In the freezer. The freezer was empty. Except for the body."

"Who found the body?"

"Waiter. He wanted to check how much meat they have to order for tonight and immediately called it in."

"M.E. there already?"

"Yeah, Tom is working already."

"Tom?" Ryan sighed, "Does he know the movie too?"

"No… But I may or may not have been singing the song all morning. And with Walter telling me that you have slept over at Mame's tonight just when Tom arrived… He might have gotten it."

"Thank you so much guys. With friends like you, I don't need Erica anymore."

* * *

The next few hours were spent on the crime scene. They found fingerprints and DNA.

Now, a very tired Valera was running the sample Ryan had brought in. "Nothing in CODIS. But the donor is female."

Nicole grinned, "_Mame gave a chump such an ice cold..._" (1)

"No!" Ryan interrupted. Just because the donor is female doesn't mean it's Mame. And, by the way, she does have an alibi. She was with me the whole night."

Nicole tilted her head, "The whole night? You didn't fall asleep?"

"Oh, come on, Nicole, that's bullshit. I would have noticed if she had left the bed, put on some clothes, went out to kill somebody, and then returned and lay down next to me again."

Nicole scratched her head, "You didn't notice the cat lying on your face when you crashed at my place."

Valera frowned, "You crashed at her place? When?"

"About two years ago. And I did notice it. The cat almost suffocated me."

"Did you sleep in the same bed?" Valera put the sample down.

"No, he slept on my couch. Yeah, but come on, you have quite the sound sleep."

"How would you know that? I was having the worst nightmares in my life back then. I didn't sleep soundly!"

"Why was he having nightmares?" Now, Valera was curious.

"Because the cat almost suffocated him. But you slept soundly after we talked, remember? You didn't hear me getting up, walking the dog, preparing breakfast… You just slept."

"Because I didn't get a lot of sleep the whole time before."

"Why didn't you get sleep before?" Valera asked her questions so randomly that neither Ryan nor Nicole noticed it properly.

"Because I… I had trouble back sleeping then. Look, Nicole, I know you don't like her…"

"It's not about me liking her or not. I'm just following a lead. I wish to God she was the one for you, and I wish you all the best, and I hope you get a decent girlfriend, but she might not be what she pretends."

"If you hope he gets a decent girlfriend why don't you date him yourself?"

Nicole was about to give an answer, but then turned to Valera, "Maxine, I do have a boyfriend."

"Yeah I know, I was just thinking. You're fighting like a couple who has been together for ages."

Ryan was annoyed by the conversation, "Look, Nicole, I appreciate your worry, but I am grown up."

"I know that, Ryan. Still…"

Ryan sighed, "Okay, yeah. There might be a teensy weensy possibility she got up without me noticing… I'm gonna talk to her." He bit his lip. "No, I shouldn't do that. If anything…" He looked up. "Am I fucking up this case? If I talk to her?"

Nicole shrugged, "I don't know. The easiest way to clear her would be to get us a DNA sample to compare our DNA to, but no judge will ever give me a warrant on those grounds."

Ryan shook his head, "Not in a million years. Listen, I… I really don't know. Could you talk to her? And take Jesse with you? Just pretend you're asking everybody who was at the club."

Nicole nodded, "Yeah, I'll do that. Hey, don't worry. What are the odds?"

"You know how things go in my life. The odds have never been higher." He thanked Valera for the result and walked out.

Nicole followed him, "Wait a second." As he stopped, she said, "I admire your professionalism. If only everybody in this lab was like this." She glanced briefly over to Firearms. "I'm sure Mame was with you the whole night. And I'm sorry for bringing this up anyways."

"It's your job. You're a pro, too." He sighed, "I guess I just don't want to believe she used me to get her an alibi. You know, yesterday before I fell asleep I thought how great it feels for once to not be used by a woman. And now…"

Nicole placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no reason to worry right now. I'll get the information first thing now. Here, I have Jesse's number already typed in. I'm sure everything will be good."

He gave her a brief smile, "Thanks for your support. And... Thanks for not telling Valera why I was having nightmares…" His voice trembled a bit, as it always did when he remembered the Russian and his pliers. "I appreciate it."

She smiled back, "I would never tell anybody about it, Ryan. What happens in Nicole's former flat stays in Nicole's former flat." She hesitated for a second, but then hugged Ryan, "I'm so sorry for what you have to go through. But don't forget that your life isn't all fucked up. You still have Ron and Ann."

He froze under her touch, but then slowly laid his arm around her shoulder, "And you and Natalia. Two of the most amazing girls on earth."

* * *

(1) The second verse of _Put the blame on Mame_

_

* * *

_**Can it be? Is it possible that Mame has done this? We've yet to find out :o)**_  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**My gosh, this has been a busy week-end. Yesterday I went to see a criminal biologist together with a good friend of mine. That was huge fun. We talked serial killers and sex. And today, I finally got myself a ticket for a German football game on the 4th of December (my own personal B'day gift. There must be something good about turning 26, when Happy and Birthday already go seperate way on the 25th... ), where I'm gonna see my favourite football player (football as in soccer, of course). Anyways, you're prolly all thinking, why is she telling us all this? Just because I am happy :D On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Ryan watched from far away as Nicole and Jesse had Mame in the interrogation room an hour later. She looked amused rather than frightened.

When Nicole got out after the interview, she immediately came looking for him. "So, she says the same that you said, that she was with you the whole night. And that I am an idiot to think she could have sneaked out."

Ryan nodded, "I see. Did you ask her for a DNA sample?"

"Jesse did, but she refused. Said I should come with a proof, she wouldn't give up her genetic code just because I feel like harassing her for calling me snobby at Ron's party. I think it entertained Jesse quite a lot."

"What did Jesse say about me being involved with her, then?"

"I don't know. I told him he should shut his trap before he even opened it, and told him if he goes around gossiping, I'd might follow him on his night activities." She grinned, "But I don't think Jesse's the kind of guy that would actually do a thing like that, and I don't think he thinks any less of you. After all, you couldn't foresee what would happen." She then paused, "What are you going to do now?"

Ryan scratched his head and then sighed, "I'm going to talk to her. I'm going to tell her that for as long as we haven't solved the case, I won't see her again. This job means too much to me, and I don't wanna risk it again."

Nicole didn't say anything at first, but then muttered, "I'm really sorry, Ryan. I'm sure everything will be fine soon. I'll even work some overtime for this case."

She was rewarded with a smile, "You're the best, Nic. Did anything special happen when a chump said no to Mame?"

"No. Just prevent her from dancing the Hichy-koo. _That's the thing that slew McGrew._" (1)

* * *

Ryan went to see Mame later that day. She was happy to see him, "Ryan. I didn't think you'd come back already today. Can I offer you something?"

Ryan shook his head, "No, thanks, I'm fine. Listen… there's something I need to talk to you about."

Mame knew what he meant, "Is this because of the murder? Ferguson and Cardoza asked me about that already. I really didn't leave your side tonight! You must have noticed that."

Ryan nodded, "Yeah, I know. Still… as far as this case is concerned, you're a witness. Or a suspect, depending on how we see it. And the fact that you didn't give your DNA… Anyways. I think it's better if we don't meet until my case is over. It would mean trouble for me, and frankly, I cannot risk any more trouble."

Mame looked at him, "Are you serious?"

"I am."

She was puzzled, "Just because I didn't give my DNA? Well, sorry, but unless your friends bring me a warrant, I don't see why I should give up my DNA just like this!"

"To prove you're innocent?"

"I am innocent. I was with you the whole night!"

Ryan sighed, "Yes, but I cannot confirm that. I was asleep, I'm not 100% sure that you didn't leave at some point. If I was, I would have no problem to testify that, but since I'm not…"

"You seriously think I could have killed the guy? Just because he was hitting on me?" She was now angry. "I cannot believe it. I can imagine why your friend thinks it's me, but you? Get out!"

"What? Mame, listen…"

"I'm not gonna listen. Get out my flat, right now!"

Ryan was about to make another move to explain himself, but then he turned away and left the flat. His hand went for his telephone and called a number, "Nicole. It's Ryan. Care for a little lunch? I need a break."

* * *

They met at the little diner opposite the lab. Nicole had already ordered lunch for both. _Grilled cheese sandwich. She even knows what I eat. _"Thanks. I'm really hungry."

She took a bite of her burger. "Sure. It's already way past lunch break. So, I guess that conversation with Mame didn't go all that well?"

"Not really. She was furious and threw me out." Ryan took a sip of his coffee. "Damn, she was really angry."

"I'm sorry to hear. Shall I order some ice cream? It always helps me."

He had to smile, "Thanks a lot, but I doubt it will make anything better." He sighed, "And just when I was finally a bit happy. Sometimes I think I should leave Miami and start somewhere new."

Nicole motioned to the waiter for some ice cream. "Really? But you love the job."

"Yeah. But there's only so much one man can handle. And I… I don't wanna sound whiny, but after the Russian… I mean, it's not like they're being openly hostile. And, since Walter and Jesse got on the team, I even feel a tad more appreciated than before. But… I don't know…"

Nicole nodded, "I understand what you mean. I actually think, and thought from the beginning on, that the team didn't treat you right. They warmed up to you pretty late. In contrast to Cardoza now, at least. And, what I find particularly disgusting is that they seem to have trust issues towards you, while everybody else in this lab can fuck up and still is trusted. They're being awfully unfair to you."

"So, you have noticed it too? I mean, even Natalia… Don't get me wrong, but after this whole mole thing, you'd have thought they had bigger problems than that. Not to mention Delko. I worked as an expert for the defence too, can you remember how much shit they gave me? But no, with Delko, it's alright." He stared gloomily into his coffee. "Sometimes I'm just so fed up with everything…"

"Focus on the good things. Like your friendship with Natalia, with Walter, with Jesse. There's so much that's really worth staying. And Ron, of course."

Ryan sighed, "I wish I could see it like this. I mean… Do you know how it feels like when, after all you do, after all the sacrifices you make, still people don't appreciate you? I've been through that my whole life, I cannot handle much more."

"Your whole life?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I told you my father threw me out, right? Because I wasn't all he wanted me to be?"

"Yah, you told me. But there are people who appreciate what you do. Think of all the people you brought justice to. There's no way you can forget those."

He chuckled, "You know how people focus on the bad things more? If you knew…"

"Tell me. If I don't know, I can't help. If I know, I understand, and I can maybe…"

He shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it. My shrink's been trying to get it out of me for a year now, but I didn't tell her. I just…. I can't." His voice was almost a whisper when he said, "Russell Keener. The guy who kidnapped that girl from the Reality Show… When I had him at gun point, he went on and on about how he recognized her by the scar he gave her. That she could change anything about herself, but that the scar is forever. I really almost shot him."

"Well, that was like what, two weeks after the Russian did what he did to you. I would have probably shot him…"

But Ryan interrupted her, "Not because of the Russian…" He didn't know what had come into his mind. Only a minute ago, he had told her that he didn't even talk to his psychiatrist about what he father had done to him, and now he had thrown a bone at Nicole which she was sure to pick up. She wasn't a CSI, but a cop nevertheless, and she knew when she dealt with a victim of… yeah, of abuse. _No need to sugar-coat hell… _

And Nicole got the drift, "I see…" Ryan could see that she was hacking her brains to find the right words. _There seems to be a difference whether you talk to a victim or a friend…. Come on, Nicole, normally you just ask your questions without any care in the world. Ever wondered why you never get the abuse or rape cases? Because you upset the victims. Come on. Don't pussyfoot around it. I don't need the pity. _She finally opened her mouth and said, "I sort of played truant the last times they had this _How to get information from victims while being all understanding_ seminars."

Ryan grinned, "I know; I kept you a seat." He then added, "There's really no point in telling you everything. You couldn't change a thing. I mean, you only have to check out my file…"

"Which I won't do…."

"And there's no need to listen to the whiny recollection of things that happened to the Black Sheep of the Wolfe family."

"I'm sure there's nothing whiny about it. I only have to look into your eyes to see that a lot has happened to you, and that it wasn't easy at all. But if you don't want to tell me, it's okay."

"It's not that I don't want. I just can't." He stirred the remaining coffee. "If I could, my shrink would know."

"The team knows."

"Because I had to spill the beans in order to save my uncle… Wait, how do you know? You weren't here back then? How do you know the team knows?"

Nicole sighed, "You know the gossip around the lab. Somebody told me that you've been through quite a hard time. I wondered and asked Valera. She wouldn't tell me anything specific and just said I should forget about it. I did, until we started to grow closer and you told me about your dad throwing you out. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I am a cop, and I can put pieces together. And right now, with all this scars talking…" She looked him in the eyes, "Throwing you out wasn't the only thing he did to you, right?"

Ryan for a moment froze. He could still go back; he could tell her she was seeing things. Instead, he heard himself saying, "No."

Nicole nodded slowly. Then she looked around. Ryan followed her gaze. Nobody was there. Then he noticed she was taking out her cell phone. She waited for the person on the other line to answer and said, "Natalia. It's Nic… ole. Not any other Nick you might have known at some point in your life." She blushed. "Listen, errr… I'm gonna drive Ryan home. He's puking his guts out. Something must have been wrong with the cheese sandwich. Yeah, I know, we shouldn't have eaten here. Anyways, can you tell Horatio that Ryan's sick, and that I will stay with him. We really don't need any more DBs on our hands, and I'm sure Tom's gonna be pissed off if the DB has choked on his own… yeah, yeah, I know you don't need details, my girl. Thanks. I will." She hung up, "Get well soon."

"I'm not…"

"I know, just pretend you are."

"What are you planning again?"

She got up, "You and I will go to my place. This place has ears and eyes, and I don't want to discuss anything here. Besides, I have a huge stash of ice cream at my place." She added, "And if by then you don't want to talk anymore, we can watch something on TV. After all, we do deserve a day off both."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Verse 4 of _Put the blame on Mame _

_

* * *

_**So, he's gonna tell her what happened...in the next chapter. :o)  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Birthday to me! 3 Yeah, I love myself and I'm gonna celebrate myself today. Myself, the fact that I am alive, and that so many people which I love are around me, even if today my parents can't. Don't matter. I'll do it Emily Blake style and give myself a chapter for my b'day. All of you, celebrate yourself! Every single person out there is amazing, and you need to see you're amazing too. **

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

When they arrived at Nicole's and Valera's place, Ryan was greeted by Frankie, Nicole's Rottweiler. "Hey there, easy young lady… Don't use the teeth…" He cautiously patted Frankie's head. "Nice girl. Nice. Really nice. Nicole, help me."

"Off, Frankie. Come on, you know the man is afraid of dogs." She lured the dog away with a goody. "That's a good girl." She looked around. "At least the cats are having a good time." All the cats were cuddled next to each other on the sofa. All, except for The Blackadder. "Looks like he likes you."

The street cat had made his way from the sofa over to Ryan and strolled around his legs. Ryan knelt down and caressed her head, "Hey there. Haven't seen you in a long time. You're alright?" The cat meowed. Ryan felt a bit of a heartache looking at it. The Blackadder was missing an ear and an eye. But other than that, it had changed remarkably from the day they had found it in a dumpster. "You're getting a little chubby. Is Nicole treating you alright?"

"It's just because he doesn't want to go out into the garden. All the others go, but the Blackadder is too scared." Nicole yelled from the kitchen. "Why don't you go to my bedroom? The cat can come with you. I'll just prepare us a snack."

"Bedroom?" He frowned. "Do you have any plans you didn't tell me about?"

"Yeah, of course, I'm gonna listen to your sad story and then we'll have amazing sex. Just like in the movies." She came back from the kitchen. "No, but if Valera enters, you don't want her to eavesdrop on it."

"True." He walked through the flat trying to figure out which room was Nicole's bedroom. As he stood next to a room that had no door but instead of it a huge Union Jack blocking the inside from any unwanted looks, he gave it a shot. "You don't have a door?"

"Nope. Doors produce stress. The flag has the same effect than a door, but without the banging."

"Oh well," he muttered, "I'm sure I'll find a bunch of Feng Shui books in there." He pushed the flag away and entered. The room was neat and tidy; a round bed in the middle of it, covered in violet sheets. He turned away from the bed, blushing a bit, and studied the wall next to the door. It was full of framed pictures. One showed Natalia and Valera in front of HQ. Another one in a club. There was a picture of Walter and Jesse, Walter in white coverall. _That's from the Burgess case when Walter had pulled the DB out of the plane's toilet…_There was one with him and Walter. One with him and Natalia. He didn't remember ever seeing a camera in Nicole's hands. And then there were about 20 shots of Valera, in her pyjamas, her bathing robe, at the hairdresser's… He turned away from the wall when Nicole entered, "Do you and Valera have an affair?"

"What?"

"Well, you gotta admit there are more pictures of Valera than of anybody else. And how the hell did you take those pictures of me?"

"I have my camera with me all the time. You never know when there's a moment worth a picture." She sat the plate with the cookies and two steaming cups of coffee down on the bedside table. "So… errr… I think I kinda broke the mood when I'd say we go home. So, let's just sit on the bed, have coffee and discuss the case?"

Ryan continued looking at the pictures. One showed Nicole, Valera and two elderly people. "That Maxine's parents?"

"That's Big Ben in the background. These are my parents."

"They look lovely."

"Oh, they are." She asked cautiously, "I suppos you don't have any pictures."

"Oh, I have. When we went to dinner the last time, when they were here in Miami. After I got Ron and my mom back…"

"So, things between you and your father are okay again?" She started nibbling on a cookie.

Ryan sighed, "Let's say… we're working on it. I mean, you noticed I didn't say 'hello' to my father when we were at Ron's party. It's… still hard, you know. I try my best, he tries his best... but in the end, it takes time." He sat down on the bed, "Are you really sure you want to know the whole story?"

"Are you sure you wanna tell me?"

Ryan's hand automatically reached down to caress the Blackadder who had curled in a ball at his feet. The cat licked his fingers first, then proceeded to jump on his lap. "I guess… after all… I've never came this close to telling anybody before." He took a deep breath. "I never thought this would be so hard." After all, he had told Horatio about it. The whole team knew. Hell, the whole lab did, from what he had heard earlier.

Nicole sat down in front of him on the floor so that when she looked up his eyes would meet hers. "You don't have to, Ryan."

But Ryan shook his head and said, in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, "My dad always wanted me to become a soldier. Just like he was, and his father before him. When my sister became a victim of abuse, I reported it, and ran into some crime scene investigators. I realized that's what I wanted to do. And I told my dad immediately." By now he had started licking his lips nervously and concentrated on caressing the cat, trying to not meet Nicole's eyes. "He was… not amused, as you Brits would put it. He was furious." There was a lump forming in his throat, but he fought it back. This was so different from what he had felt when he'd told Horatio. Back then, he had just stated the facts, worrying too much about his uncle to really feel anything. But here, in Nicole's cosy bedroom where everything smelled of fresh coffee, and with the Blackadder purring like a new car… it was so different from the sterile smell and the coldness in the lab that he couldn't but let his guard down. "He beat me up. It wasn't the first time. He beat me up quite a lot, but it had never been like that before. He was so angry… out of control. He didn't stop. He broke his cane on me in one single hit. Then he trashed me with his belt." He closed his eyes, feeling a wave of nausea coming over him. "There was so much blood… So much… I… I screamed, I begged him to stop… he didn't." He swallowed. "I don't know what made him stop later. I don't even know how long it went on. It felt like an eternity. After he had finished… he made me clean his belt and the floor with my own shirt. I thought it was over then, but when I was done… He threw me out. He tucked me by the hair, dragged me out on the front lawn, spat in my face and told me if he ever sees me again I wouldn't be able to stand on my own two feet anymore." He paused, breathed in slowly. "He would have done it. My mom cried, but to no avail. I was lucky to have Ron. He came to Boston immediately, can you imagine? But the hours before his arrival… I was at the airport, waiting for him, covered in blood, in my bloody shirt. Everybody looked at me, wondering, why is that kid there, all alone. It was so humiliating. To see the pity and the disgust in their eyes… Excuse me for a second." He cautiously placed the Blackadder on the pillow, raced to the bathroom and threw up. As he was sitting there, shaking, he still couldn't let the tears flow. Tears had been beaten out of him.

He only noticed Nicole had followed him when she handed him a wet towel. He wiped his face with it, but the sweat kept running over his body, drenching his clothes. By now, he was shaking violently. With the comforting purr of the Blackadder and the coffee smell gone, nothing was there to calm him. Nicole cautiously laid her arm around his shoulders and caressed his hair. The shaking stopped eventually, but Ryan didn't dare to move. He couldn't bring himself to look into Nicole's eyes, afraid of the pity he was sure was there to see. But, oh well, why not telling everything and destroy the last of respect she had for him? "My father's belt left marks. Some of them bled. I still have the scars. They're all over my back. No one but me has ever seen them. And no one will. I always keep my shirt on. Even with girls. Ask Natalia, she'll confirm it."

For the first time since he had started telling his story, Nicole said something, "Why?" Her voice was empty.

"Because I feel ashamed, of course. They show I couldn't defend myself. Everytime I look at them, it hurts. It feels like I'm there again. Those scars remind me everyday of the pain and fear I suffered from the hands of a man who was supposed to protect me. I don't want anybody seeing them. I couldn't stand that look of disgust. Not again…" His voice broke. "I'm sorry. Sorry you have to hear and see all this."

"No need to be sorry, darling." She held his head to her shoulder. "Really, no need to be. If somebody should be sorry, it's your father."

"He just wanted me to become strong. I know from my uncle that my father's upbringing was even worse than mine."

She crawled his hair, "That's no excuse. I told you I have an uncle in the army, too. He's got two sons. I never have seen him laying hand on any of them."

"Then they are lucky." Ryan muttered. "Do you have a spare toothbrush?" He softly pushed her hand away and got up, still shaking, but regaining his composure. "Though I think I should probably leave."

Nicole remained sitting on the floor, "You don't have to. Please, don't feel like I think any less of you."

Ryan shook his head, "I won't. It's just…" He shrugged, "When I was waking up at Mame's this morning… she suggested that we take a shower. Together, you know?"

She grinned, "I know, yeah."

He had to smile too, but it was a bitter smile, "And the only thing I was thinking was that if she saw my back, she would be totally repulsed and throw me out of her flat butt naked."

Nicole got up, "I'm sure she wouldn't. You might be surprised about it, but most of us girls don't mind scars."

"You're only saying that because I told you I have some."

"No, I don't. If I was that nice, I would have never commented on your orange shirts, remember. What I'm saying is true. Us girls are always looking for men that can protect us, that will fight for us, that don't cry if they've broken a fingernail… You know. A scar doesn't bother us."

"You're talking about _a_ scar. I'm talking about fucking _Guernica_. Do you have a spare toothbrush now?"

She motioned to the cupboard, "Take one there. Look, I know I cannot convince you that I am right. What I can say is that if you were my man, I wouldn't mind."

"That's what you say now. Kinda easy to say that when you have a boyfriend and there's no chance of us ever hooking up."

She sighed, "True. I could of course drag you to my bed, bind you there, strip you and give you a night you won't forget, but that would be kinda unfair to Michael."

Ryan couldn't help but smiling again, "You have a way of cheering people up… I almost believe you."

"The other possibility would be that we have a quickie in the shower. You should really change. You're completely soaked."

"Which would not be unfair to Travers?"

She gave him her brightest grin. "I'll go get you something to change into."

"I could also just shower at my place?"

"I know. But I figured, since you just threw up the cheese sandwich, you might wanna stay a bit longer. We could order some pizza."

"That's really lovely, but I'd rather be alone now…" He sighed, "That was hard. Really hard. I need some time to… Is that your phone ringing?"

"No…"

"It's _When I grow up_. (1) If you don't have a magic Ipod, this is your phone."

She rolled her eyes on him and took the phone from her pocket. "Yes, Ferguson? Not really, where's Tripp? Had a cheese sandwich too? Yeah, okay, I'll be there. Where? I see... No, I'm not in the mood for laughing. See you there, Natty." She hung up. "I gotta go. DB on a construction site. I refrain myself from making any jokes on the Frisco Quake.(2)"

Ryan hesitated but then said, "I'm going with you."

"You can't. Look at you. You're a mess. You can stay here until you feel better…"

"Save it. I'm going. Can I use your shower? It won't take long."

"Sure. You know where you can find the towels?"

"Yah, I remember." He gave her a look. "You're leaving, right? The quickie was a joke, yeah?"

She smiled, "Believe me, if I wasn't that faithful to my beloved Travers, you wouldn't get out of this one."

Ryan gave her a smile and then suddenly pulled her into a hug. "Thank you. For everything. It felt good talking about it."

She remained in his arms for a few seconds, then softly pushed him away, "I… I should leave. I just want you to know that if anything, I think even higher of you now. And no scar can be ugly enough to stop me from thinking you're a hot shot." She grinned, "Did she shim and shake?" (2)

"Leave. Now."

* * *

(1) _When I grow up_ – The Pussycat Dolls

(2) Verse 3 of _Put the Blame on Mame_

_

* * *

_**Yeah, he told her. A nice friendshippy moment. But I can't let Ryan be happy, can I? Well, at least now the pressure is gone. **

**Again, celebrate yourself. Not only on your b'days, but everyday!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

I am so sorry for the long wait, but real life is being really chaotic right now. Anyways. Here my new chapter

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Ryan and Nicole arrived at the crime scene soon. Ryan's hair was still wet from the shower; they had stopped at his place so that he could get himself a new shirt, as he had found that a big oversized hoodie saying 'I heart London' really didn't make him look like a qualified crime scene investigator. Now that he saw that Walter and Natalia were already there, he congratulated himself on his decision; Walter would have made fun of him for wearing a girl's hoodie, and Natalia would have surely recognized Nicole's favourite piece of clothing. He didn't need any questions.

Walter gave him a big grin when Ryan joined him, "Did Nicole already gave you a hard time, or did she leave the pleasure to me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. _One night she started to shim and shake, that brought on the Frisco Quake._(1) I don't even know what's so funny about it."

"You haven't seen the victim yet. While we don't know what the COD is, he was found under a pile of rubble from the house." Walter pointed at the ruin. "I'm inclined to think that an earthquake caused this."

"We didn't have an earth quake in ages."

"But Indonesia had."

Ryan tilted his head, "And does any of this here looks like Indonesia? No. So… you say we don't know the COD yet?"

"Tom's looking at it, but we had to take the rubble down first. Which was an awful lot of work. But you and Nicole decided to come late to miss all the fun. You're feeling better?"

Ryan nodded, blushing a bit as he remembered Nicole's lie from earlier, "Yeah, a bit. Thanks for asking. And sorry you had to do the dirty work alone. I had to shower and change."

"Don't worry, mate. Nice of you to come, anyways. There's a lot to do."

"Then let's get started."

* * *

An hour later, Ryan and Natalia stood in the autopsy room, looking at Tom who just put gloves on. They had left Walter and Jesse at the crime scene to collect any remaining evidence.

Now, Tom took a closer look at the head. "I can see a wound here. Your victim was probably knocked unconscious."

"Did the blow kill him?" Natalia asked.

Tom thought about it, "I don't think so. The wound is pretty shallow; I doubt it was enough to kill him. I'll make a mark of it so you can find out what was used." He looked up, quizzically. "You know what is weird about this wound, though?"

Ryan and Natalia both looked; then Ryan said, "It's on his front. He wasn't knocked down from behind."

"Exactly. And look at this." He pointed at the victim's hand. "Defensive wounds."

Natalia nodded, "Makes sense. He probably saw it coming, tried to fight… that's why the wound is so shallow."

Ryan murmured, "Or it could have been a girl. Has he got DNA under his fingernails?" As Tom smiled, Ryan added, "So, it was a fight. No other wounds?"

"Nope. But look at this." Tom pointed his flashlight at the victim's mouth. "Blood. I will confirm it later, but my guess is that this guy was unconscious from the blow, and then the rubble finished it. He might have drowned in his own blood."

Natalia made a grimace, "Not a nice way to leave. And very sophisticated. Who would take his time to bury somebody under a pile of rubble if they have a weapon they could easily use to finish him off? A few stronger hits to the head, and then that's it. Why the drama?"

"For drama's sake, perhaps." Ryan took the evidence bag that contained the Q-Tip with the skin cells from under the victim's fingernails. "I'll bring this to Valera."

* * *

Valera rolled her eyes, "I was just about to leave!"

"I was at home already and still came back." Ryan grinned. "Now, run this, please."

Valera sighed deeply, "Okay. Because Nicole asked me to do anything you want today." She took the Q-Tip out and cursed, "You know, I never thought there were so many differences between Q-Tips, but since they have the new ones…"

"We have new Q-Tips?"

Valera nodded, "Yeah. The firm had delivery trouble, so we got these ones instead. And they're crappy."

"I see…" Ryan hesitated, "Did Nicole tell you why you should do anything I want today?"

"Not really, no. When I asked her why, she said because she had to refuse a quickie." Valera eyed him, visibly amused, "I'm sure she's lying, because she would've never done that, but I wonder if you actually asked her. I mean, after all, you were at her place back when you had all those nightmares…"

Ryan grinned, "Actually she made the offer. But then she thought it was kinda unfair to Travers. I am of course heartbroken, but the fast processing of my DNA will comfort me in lonely nights to come."

Valera shook her head, "With all your banter, how will I know if you're getting together for real? No hit in CODIS."

Ryan nodded, "Okay. That's what I feared. Can you run it against the open cases?" Valera nodded. "Thanks…. So, you didn't tell Nicole anything about that case? With my uncle? What you found on the belt?"

Valera froze in mid-motion. This was the first time ever Ryan had spoken about it since the case. She then looked at him, "No, I didn't. I figured it was nobody's business but yours. You never wanted to talk about it, so I thought why tell her."

He nodded, "I told her today." He knew now that he could trust Maxine. "But I'm glad you didn't. Thank you."

She gave him a warm smile, "No need to." When her computer gave a beep, she turned away from him, only to frown, "You will not believe this. The DNA matches the deep freeze from this morning."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Could you stop this? Don't ask if I'm sure every time. I am, or else I wouldn't say it. The DNA is female, and a perfect match."

Ryan bit his lip. "So, we have a serial killer. And it's a girl. Nice change."

Valera grabbed her purse, "I'm outta here. Don't even try to make me run the sample again! Good night." In the door, she ran into Nicole. "No, no, no, I'm gone. Don't even ask me."

Nicole frowned, "Sometimes she is rather weird."

"And still you have a Valera shrine at home. So, the DNA from tonight's victim matches the DNA from this morning's victim."

"And I tell you, it's Mame."

"Nicole…"

"What? It's Halloween! Weirder things have happened on Halloween."

He grinned, "I thought you didn't believe in that crap."

"Yeah, but you gotta admit, it's kinda freaky. Now, if the next DB we get is shot, I'd worry about it."

Ryan tried to remember the song, "Right, the shooting of Dan McGrew. (2) Still, you gotta admit, chances are pretty high that we'll soon have the victim of a shooting on our hands. This is Miami, after all…"

"True that. So, is there anything we can do tonight? Any witnesses? Any nice tests Travers has to run?"

Ryan shook his head, "No, not really. And, to be honest, I'm really tired. I just wanna go home and sleep."

Nicole looked at him, "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

He gave her a smile, "I am. Don't worry. I actually feel a lot better now. I'll just go for an evening walk, do some grocery shopping, then I'll go home and sleep."

"Okay. If anything's wrong, if you need company, you know my number."

"I do."

* * *

(1) Verse 3 of _Put the blame on Mame_

(2) Verse 4 of _Put the blame on Mame_

_

* * *

_**Mhm. Nicole seems to think that anything possible on Halloween. But is it? **_  
_


	8. Chapter 8

I wanna say thank u to each and everyone who has reviewed the latest chapters. I'm really busy right now, so I can't reply to the reviews, but I wanna let u know that they mean a lt to me. You guys are amazing!

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_She kissed him. She kissed him so passionately that __every nerve in his body reacted. God, she was so beautiful! He ran his fingers through her hair, over her shoulders, down to her hips. Her skin was so warm. Her smell drove him crazy. She smelled of roses, of sun, of sea. Now she kissed his chest. Her fingers ran over his body, caressing him, tickling him. He smiled, it felt so good. He would go all the way. He would even take his shirt off. She wouldn't be repulsed, He just felt it. She would still be attracted to him. Her fingers did things to him he hadn't felt since Erica. Her hair tickled his chest when she kissed his stomach. He sighed deeply and put himself into a more comfortable position…_

BAM! He hit the floor hard. It took him a while to realize he was not lying in his bed, and that there was no Mame there who was just about to… He rubbed his head where it had hit the table. Crap, he had fallen asleep on the couch again. The TV just showed the last minutes of tonight's_ American Idol_. Why was he watching that crap anyways? He remembered he had turned it on because he wanted to think about the case, and he had found out that stupid TV shows always helped him thinking because he could focus on the case.

Now, he got up from the floor, still rubbing his head. He saw it was still early in the evening, and he knew from experience he couldn't go back to sleep anytime soon. He walked to his bathroom and splashed some water into his face. He could as well go for a little evening run now. Hey, maybe he met Delko on the way, and they could go have a beer. Or, better, make that Walter. He put on his sports attire and left the flat. For once, he wished he had a dog. Ivan Sarnoff's people were still at large, and he didn't really want to run into one of them. His team didn't worry, but really, did they think just because Sarnoff was dead that the Russian mob had faded into nothing? It sure seemed like it.

He started jogging away from his block, towards the shore. He had found out long ago that there was really nothing better than to run on the sand, barefoot. It reminded him of the first time he had been in Miami. A little boy of five or six years, running around on the beach, building sandcastles with Ron and swimming in the sea. As he arrived at the nearest shore, he took his shoes off and sat down in the sand. The night was calm. Even the sea wasn't as rough as it had been the nights before. He closed his eyes and breathed the salty air in. Gosh, that felt good. He sighed deeply and lay down in the sand. He should do that more often. He wouldn't think about the case tonight. He would just enjoy the peace and quiet of this wonderful night.

Or so he thought. Suddenly, he heard two people arguing. A man and a woman. Ryan tried to ignore it, but then the man started insulting the woman. So he opened his eyes and got into a sitting position. He could see the two now. They were away far enough that he couldn't make out their faces. But he could see that the man had grabbed the woman's arm and squeezed it hard. Ryan checked his options. He could call 911, or somebody who could help him. Like Nicole. Valera's place was closest to the shore, and with a bit of luck, Nicole was walking Frankie now. The other option was to just go and get in between. As he saw the man raising his hand, he jumped up. He could not leave a woman to herself. He had never done it, and he wouldn't do it now. He started running towards them. Just before the man hit the woman, who had covered her face, Ryan reached them.

He jumped in between and stopped the man's arm in mid motion. "Whoa, hold it right there. You cannot just beat a woman!"

The man who smelled faintly of alcohol and suddenly looked about as tall as Walter, gave him a look, "How I treat my girlfriend is none of your business!"

Ryan let go of the guy's arm, "I'm sorry, but as a matter of fact, it is. My name is Ryan Wolfe, I'm with the Miami PD, and if you don't leave the lady alone now, I'm going to have to arrest you."

The man grinned, "It's _my_ girlfriend, hobbit. Mame, tell him."

_Mame? _Ryan turned around and looked at the woman for the first time. _Mame… _And apparently, the man had hit her before. There was a faint line of blood running down her chin. Ryan bit his lip. _Okay, cool down. Don't kill him, even if you feel it's the right thing to do. Stupid fucker, you shouldn't have done that. _

He turned back to the man, "Mhm, I can't hear her saying something, so you might wanna leave."

"Not without her."

"Yes, without her."

The man came one step closer so that Ryan now had to look up to be eye to eye with him. "I seriously advice you to leave us alone now, Frodo. If not, I'm gonna wipe the floor with your face."

"You didn't get what I was saying… I'm with the police, and I can have you arrested." _He's really tall. _

"You won't be able to give the police your name when I'm done with you." He raised his fist, but suddenly, a black lightning hit him. He went down. Ryan shielded Mame as the man rolled on the ground, screaming, fighting the lightning. He managed to get it off himself and then ran away like there was no tomorrow.

Now, the lightning remained on the floor, licking its paws and bellowing happily. His eyes landed on Ryan; it got up again and jumped on him.

"Off, Frankie, off! That's Ryan! You cannot lick his face! No, off! Frankie, heel! Frankie, heel!" The last order was more powerful than the others, and Frankie got off Ryan and wandered off into darkness.

Ryan got up, trying to ignore the powerful desire to wash his face with the salty ocean water. "Nicole. That was one hell of a good timing."

Nicole got out of the shadows, a wide grin on her face, "Yeah, I know, I'm great. You okay?"

Ryan nodded, "I am, yes. Thanks to Frankie. Good girl. Give her a goody from me."

"Will do." She looked at Mame, "You need an ambulance or something?" As Mame shook her head, she asked, "You wanna report the guy?" Again, Mame shook her head. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go home now." She gave Ryan a look, "You're sure you're alright?"

Ryan nodded, clearly understanding that this time she meant Mame, "Yeah, I am. Say hello to Valera from me."

"Yeah, I will. You take care, right? I cannot protect you all the time." She blinked at him and then whistled. Frankie gave Ryan's hand a last loving lick and then followed her mistress.

Ryan turned back to Mame, rubbing his hand on his trousers, "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

Mame brought her hand up to her lip. "Oh, that. No, I'm okay. Thank you…"

Ryan, with his other hand, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to Mame. "Here, take this."

She did and pressed it to her lip, "That was my ex boyfriend. He just doesn't understand that we've split up." She looked at the hankie. "It stopped bleeding. I'll take it with me and wash it. I'll bring it back, tomorrow, that alright?"

"You can just give it back to me. I'll put my clothes in the washing machine anyways. There's dog drool everywhere." He reached his hand out for the hankie. As Mame gave it back to him, he said, "Shall I bring you home? In case the guy is still around?"

Mame shook her head, "That won't be necessary." She pointed over her shoulder. "Ferguson is still there. I can hear the dog breathing. I'm sure she'll follow me home. And Chris won't come close to me if there's a dog around. He is afraid of them. Thanks a lot for what you've done, but I don't need any more of your help." With that, she turned away and left. Ryan noticed the shadow following her. Okay, with Nicole and Frankie on Mame's heels, she would get home safe. So he could go home too.

He took a last look at the ocean which had suddenly started becoming less calm. It looked more like Davy Jones' Locker now. Ryan smiled bitterly. His heart felt just the same now. Mame would never forgive him for leaving her over this case. He furiously kicked the sand; this could have been it. But no, again work had got in between him and a chance to have a fine working relationship. He reached into his pocket where he had stored the handkerchief. With Mame's blood on it. He would give it to Natalia or Valera tomorrow. They would tell him whether or not Mame was the unknown female donor. And if not, he would go talk to her. And maybe they could start over again.

The sound of the unruly waves hitting the shore haunted him until he was home.

* * *

And when his cell phone rang the next morning, he knew what the sudden change in the ocean had really meant.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! What the hell happened? Did the guy kill Mame at home, when Nicole had already left? Did the dog have a serious disease that now infected Ryan? So many questions. **


	9. Chapter 9

I'm gonna be nice and not leave that cliffhanger for too long. So, here's your next chapter!

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

His first stop was HQ. Valera stood in her DNA lab, her eyes puffy and red. Natalia looked the same. Ryan closed the door behind him, "I came as fast I could. What happened? How did it happen?"

Valera, her hand trembling so much Ryan doubted she would be able to analyze anything today, answered, her voice sounding like she was about to cry again, "She didn't came home last night. I woke up at 4 a.m. to Frankie's howling in front of the door. I got out, and she led me to…" She wiped a tear away. "I cannot believe it."

Ryan bit his lip, "What's her condition?"

"C-comatose." Natalia whispered. "I was at the hospital earlier… She was shot. The bullet hit her in the head. Alexx said it was a miracle she's still alive, but they don't think she'll wake up again." She was shaking, "Ryan, I wouldn't have recognized her. Somebody took his sweet time beating her up…"

Valera ran out of the room, almost knocking Ryan over. Ryan still tried hard to understand what they had just told him, "They don't know if Nicole's ever going to wake up again?" Natalia shook her head. "I… I only saw her yesterday evening… when she was following Mame. Have you… have you found anything?" He knew it sounded terrible. "Anything we could use. You said she was… Was there any transfer?"

Natalia nodded, "Yeah. She scratched who ever did this. I found plenty of skin cells under her nails. She didn't go down just like this."

"Is it a match?"

Again, Natalia nodded, "Yeah. It is. To the unknown female donor. From the last two cases." She looked at Ryan, "I know it sounds completely… but she was shot. Remember what happens at the end of the song?"

"The shooting of Dan McGrew. But come on, you don't believe… I know it's Halloween, but…" But he had to admit, Mame was the prime suspect this time, and there was no way of denying it. His hand reached into his pocket. He produced an evidence bag containing the handkerchief. "Run this against the unknown donor. It's Mame's blood." Natalia took it without any further questions. For the next minutes, they were silent. Ryan asked, "How is Travers holding up?"

"Surprisingly well. He is convinced she'll wake up again, and won't lose hope. I wish I could be the same." Her voice trembled.

Ryan walked around the table and pulled Natalia in a strong hug, "She'll be okay, Natalia. We won't lose her. Delko survived it, she will, too." He rubbed her shoulders tenderly. "Just believe. You have to believe."

"I will, Ryan…" She remained in his arms until her computer gave the much awaited beep.

Ryan froze. "It's a match."

"Mame did it."

* * *

Natalia and Ryan sat down opposite Mame a few hours later. She didn't even try to hide the scratches on her arm. Ryan pretended he didn't know where they came from. "Did you run into your ex boyfriend again yesterday?"

Mame nodded, "Yeah. And I thought I was safe, with Ferguson and her dog behind me. But he waited for me in front of my house. He grabbed me again and tried to drag me inside. Ferguson helped me. She tried to pull me out of his grip. And may I add she wasn't too careful?" Mame pointed at the scratches on her arms. "I ran away. I wanted to call 911, but he was already gone when I had reached the phone, so I dropped the idea." Then she said through clenched teeth, "I guess I have to say thank you to her. Where is she?"

Natalia gave her an ice cold look, "She's in hospital. Shot. Comatose. Do you own a gun?"

"What, you think I did this?" Mame returned the look, "I couldn't hurt a fly!"

"Oh, yes? And why did we find your DNA at three crime scenes?" Natalia literally smashed the pictures of the victims on the table. Ryan felt nauseous when he saw the picture Natalia had taken in the hospital this morning. She had been right; Nicole had been beaten up severely. Only the red hair convinced him that this was really her. "Look at this: The guy you turned down at the club. Nicole Ferguson, who you couldn't stand. What about this guy, what did he do wrong?"

Mama took a look at the pictures, then raised her head again, "Are you kidding me? Is that some sort of a sick joke?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, you think I never heard this awful song? It haunted me all my life. The Fire, the Blizzard, the earthquake, the shooting? And now you show me these pictures: a frozen body, a person buried under a pile of stones, and your friend? Come on, you gotta be kidding me."

Ryan interrupted, "This is not a joke, Mame. We found your DNA at the crime scenes. Now, with Nicole, I may believe you got those scratched when she pulled you out of your ex boyfriend's grip. But the others? How do you explain that?"

"I don't know these people, Ryan!"

"Okay. Lets say I believe you. Then tell me, did you actually see your ex-boyfriend leaving yesterday? Is it possible that he did this to Nicole?" Natalia asked.

Mame's gaze turned from furious to bitter, "My ex-boyfriend is the biggest chump there is. I should never have gotten involved with him. But then again, I was young, he handed me the world on a silver platter. I thought he was under a lot of stress when he first hit me. You know, all these excuses women make up to justify their man's behaviour. Until I had enough. I left him, I joined a group, I learned to defend myself. If you ask me if Chris is capable of doing THIS…" she pointed at Nicole's picture, "to a woman, then I gotta say, he did way worse things to me." She took a breath and added, "No offense."

Ryan could see the fight going on in Natalia. On the one hand, the anger and fear for her friend and the despise for the woman in front of her; on the other hand the understandable compassion for Mame, who had been in the same situation as Natalia herself. It was one of the things he liked about Natalia: the warmth she radiated onto everybody in her presence.

The tone in Natalia's voice had changed ever so slightly when she asked, "Why did you never report him?"

"I just wanted to get over with it."

"I see. Look, we're gonna need all the information you can give us about the guy. We're gonna check him out. Maybe we'll find him responsible for the attack on Detective Ferguson." And then she said, "But that doesn't mean you're cleared for anything. You're gonna stay here."

"Then I want my lawyer. But don't worry. I'm not gonna tell him that you got my DNA without my consent. That's my last gift to you, Ryan." Her look was ice cold.

Natalia got up. "We don't need no gifts. If you want to report us for getting your DNA like this, feel free to do so." She left without looking at Ryan.

Ryan got up too, "Do what you have to do. If you've done this, we'll nail you. It's as easy as that."

"You really think I did this?"

He shrugged, "I have learned that the evidence is the only thing that never lies to me."

"I'm not lying."

"We'll find out."

* * *

**So yeah, there my OC goes off. I decided that with the friendship between Ryan and Walter, and especially also Ryan and Natalia that has been on for one and a half seasons now, I don't need an OC anymore to give Ryan some friendship. I'm gonna keep her alive nevertheless, because, you know... But as of now, the future stories won't feature Nicole anymore. **


	10. Chapter 10

I have finished the story :o) So, updating will go fast from now on. Plus, I am on a writing spree for "Breaking lives down to their knees", so those of you who read both stories are in for a nice week :o)

Disclaimer: See Chapter One. I don't own _Get Smart_ neither.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Walter, Natalia and Ryan met in the AV room. Dave had left the room to them so they could spread out any evidence they had on the cases.

Ryan frowned, "What is the picture of the arson case doing here?"

Walter blushed a bit, "Well, I thought that, maybe… we didn't find any solid evidence there, but Frank found out that the gasoline was purchased at the gas station around the corner where Mame lives. And, I thought that maybe… you know… _Mame kissed a buyer from out of town. That kiss burned Chicago down…_" (1)

Ryan nodded, "Yeah, okay. Why not. So, let's see what we have." He pointed at the picture. "Case Number One. Arson. Victim Jose Moreira. Nothing to go on except for the order from the gas station. Does the guy remember who bought it?"

Walter checked his notes, "Blonde guy, about 6 ft tall. Nothing more to go on. He paid cash."

"Don't we have any surveillance videos?" Natalia asked.

Walter shook his head, "Tape was empty when we brought it in. Camera didn't work."

Ryan sighed, "Of course. As usual. Now, victim number two, our deep freeze." He pointed at the second picture. "Jeffrey Donald. I guess we can say that he really didn't make a lot of friends that evening. We found DNA. From Mame."

"Did he touch her?"

Ryan thought about it, "I think yes, he touched her." He turned to Natalia. "Where did we find the DNA?"

"On the refrigerator."

The small hope Ryan had that Mame could be innocent vanished into thin air, "Okay, so no chance that her DNA was from the touch." He walked over to the next picture. "Oscar Garcia, victim of what I know most people in the lab refer to as the Miami quake." He gave Walter an indignant look. "Tom has confirmed his initial suspicion that he was alive when the rubble came down. We have defensive wounds on his hands. DNA from Mame. BUT: There are no injuries on her that suggest she was in a fight, other than the scratches on her arms."

"But then again…." Natalia pointed at the last picture. "We found plenty of her skin cells. Under Nicole's fingernails."

Ryan couldn't bring himself to look at Nicole's picture, "She claims it was when Nicole helped her against the ex boyfriend… Chris Walton. And, honestly, we all know Nicole, and it does sound like her."

Walter frowned, "So, this leaves us with Mame's DNA. Which we found everywhere. On three of four crime scenes. She has an alibi for… one at least."

"Not really." Ryan said, "She was with me, yeah, but I cannot confirm she never left. Other than that. I'll ask her later about her alibis for the other murders."

Natalia shook her head, "I don't know. Really, it's a huge coincidence. Like, song and murder, and stuff."

"No, Natalia, this is Halloween. Weirder things have happened on Halloween." Walter said gloomily. "You think somebody set her up?"

Natalia shrugged, but Ryan got up, "I'll find out."

* * *

He sat down with Mame and her lawyer. He showed her the pictures again, "Do you know any of these people. Apart from Detective Ferguson and Jeffrey Donald?"

Mame took a closer look at the other pictures, "No, I'm afraid not."

Ryan nodded, "Okay. So, where were you after Ron's party?"

Mame tilted her head, "At home. You drove me home, remember?"

"Can anybody confirm this?"

"Apart from you? No."

Ryan sighed, "Okay. Now, the night when Donald died, we were together. I said I cannot confirm that you never left that night. So, that's no good alibi either. How about yesterday, late afternoon?"

"I was at work till 6 p.m. After that, I went out with a few girlfriends for a glass of wine. I left for home about 10 p.m., and then ran into Chris. He wanted to talk to me. I shouldn't have gone with him, but he told me he was having a therapy, and wanted us to talk things through. That's when I ran into you and Detective Ferguson."

"Okay. I can confirm the last bit. Anybody can confirm the rest?"

She gave him a list of names, "We were out together. They can confirm I'm innocent."

Ryan nodded, "Okay. So, last night. When did you arrive home?"

"It must have been half past eleven. I really didn't check. But the confrontation with Chris didn't last too long."

"Did you see anything once you were in?"

Mame thought about it, "Not really. As I said, I assumed Chris and Ferguson were gone. But then again, I didn't pay any more attention. I had a bath, and then went to bed."

"So, you don't have an alibi for… later that night?"

Mame shook her head, "No." Then she looked at him, "It looks bad for me, right? Ryan, I swear to God, I didn't do any of this. I could never hurt somebody."

"We found your DNA."

"I don't know how it ended up there, except of course for Ferguson. She scratched me."

Ryan scratched his head, "I know. Okay, let's say, somebody tries to set you up. Who?"

"Chris." She immediately answered. "He would do such a thing. You've seen what he has done to your friend."

"Why would he do that?"

"To pay me back? To make sure I go down for refusing him? I don't even think he needs a reason…"

Mame's lawyer now said, "Detective Wolfe, Mr Walton has a record. He might be your best bet."

"Well, actually your client is my best bet, Mr Driver. But you say Walton has a record?"

"Yes. Robbery, assault, the whole thing." Martin Driver didn't look like a lawyer who just wanted to get his client out of trouble no matter what. He looked genuinely concerned when he reached Ryan a folder. "Look over this. I got this information when Ms Collins first told me she thinks of reporting Mr Walton."

Ryan took the folder and got up, "Thanks for your help. I will do that."

* * *

He went back to DNA lab where Valera and Natalia were whispering with each other. When Ryan entered, both silenced immediately. "Are you making fun of me?"

Valera shook her head, "Not more than usual."

But Natalia could bring herself to smile, "Ryan… Maxine and I were working… We looked back at the cases from the last few days. Our own, the nightshift's cases, anything that came up…" She swallowed, "I don't know how… they all came back positive for Mame."

"What? Come on, you're kidding me, right?"

Natalia shook her head, "We ran every sample test twice. It's her. She's a serial killer. She killed about seven people during the last three days."

"That's…." Ryan checked the papers Valera were holding out to him. "Oh my God. It's true." He shook his head, "I can't believe it. She used me. She used me because she thought I would never… I can't believe it."

Natalia walked around the table and laid a hand on Ryan's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Ryan. I know how you must feel right now."

But Ryan just shook his head again, "I can't believe it. I was so stupid. Nicole and Walter were right all the way. Nicole didn't trust her from the beginning."

"Ryan, it's not your fault. There was no reason to not trust her in the first place." Natalia tried to calm him down.

"I know. Still…" He laid the folder he had been carrying on the table. Valera took it and flipped though it. Her eyes were still red, Ryan noticed. But he couldn't care about her now. He had to handle the thought of Mame having used him. Again, he had been used by a woman. Erica, who wanted information, and Mame, who thought that if she made him falling in love with her, she could continue that killing spree.

He heard Valera's voice through a haze, "… I think he should be in jail for those abominable Q-Tips, but then again, those other charges are of course worse."

Ryan raised his head, "What?"

Valera pointed at the folder, "This Walton guy. He works at the firm who got us those crappy Q-Tips I told you about. Who is he? Why are you carrying this around?"

Ryan licked his lips, "He's Mame's ex boyfriend…" He exchanged a look with Natalia, "Can it be?"

Natalia nodded, "It's possible."

"What are you guys talking about?" Valera was getting impatient.

Ryan put his gloves on and reached out to take an unused Q-Tip from the box Valera had on her desk. He gave it to her, "Run this, please."

Valera frowned, "That one's not been used before."

"Run it. Please."

She shrugged, "Sometimes, you are rather weird. But okay, I just run an unused Q-Tip. Like it's the most normal thing in this crazy world populated with crazy people just like you." She worked on the Q-Tip and then asked, "Are you going to visit Nicole?"

Ryan nodded, "Today after work. I know I should have gone before…"

But Valera shook her head, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to drop out from a case just because of her." She smiled bitterly, "You know, she always wanted to be like 99. From that show, _Get smart. _She said that was a cool lady, and that she wanted to be just like her. And now?"

Ryan noticed tears coming back to Valera's eyes, "Don't worry. I'm sure she's gonna be fine. You know how Delko works with a bullet in his head, and how Nicole always tried to be harder then him? I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Doctors don't know if she'll ever wake up again…"

"She will. You have to believe. Like Travers."

"I wish I could. But, you know, when you work here, and see all those dead people…" The beeping of the computer interrupted her. "No match in CODIS."

"Run it against Mame's DNA and against the open cases." She did, and after a few seconds, got a result. "Positive."

"So, it's Mame's DNA?"

"Yeah. On an unused Q-Tip." Valera frantically ran her fingers through her hair. "Oh my God, if I made a mistake again…."

But Ryan calmed her down immediately, "That was not your fault, you didn't make a mistake. It's the Q-Tips."

"But how?"

Natalia had understood, "The guy prepared the Q-Tips. Chris Walton. He works at the firm. He prepared the Q-Tips with Mame's DNA. To set her up."

Ryan doubted, although Natalia had the same idea he had, "But is that really possible?"

"Why not? I mean…"

"Okay." Ryan took a breath, "Let's plan ahead. I tell Frank to get a warrant for Walton's flat and workplace."

"Right. And I talk to Mame and figure out how he could have gotten her DNA."

Both Ryan and Natalia literally race out of the DNA lab. Valera looked at them leaving and said, "And I wait here until you care to explain to me what just happened."

* * *

(1) First verse of _Put the blame on Mame_

_

* * *

_**I know a similar case has appeared on CSI New York, but I only found that out when I was doing research on the original case from Germany. I think though my version is different enough from both so that no one of you will think I stole the idea from CBS. I haven't seen the episode, and everything you recognize from it is really pure coincidence. **_  
_


	11. Chapter 11

Wow. I can't believe how fast this story was over. This is the last chapter. There's only an epilogue to follow. But more to that later. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: See chapter one.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Ryan met with Frank in front of the flat half an hour later. Frank had the warrant. "Took me some talking to get it, but even judges seem more willing to give us a warrant if there's a cop involved. How's she, by the way?"

Ryan shook his head, "Still comatose."

Frank didn't say anything, but Ryan had been working with him long enough to know the man was angry. "Okay. And this guy here, what's the deal?"

Ryan filled him in quickly, "And I think we might get lucky in his flat."

Frank nodded, "Then we'll better hurry up!" The two entered the building and got up to the forth floor. There, Frank knocked on the door, "Miami Dade Police. Mr Walton, open the door!" No response. Ryan gave Frank a look which he returned. "Don't look at me like that, buddy. You're younger than me."

Ryan sighed, but nodded. "Mr Walton? Are you there?" Since there was still no response, Ryan kicked the door in. "I wonder why I'm always asking. Did you notice those criminals are almost never at home?"

"And if they are, they take the time we ask to jump out of the nearest window." Frank took the lead and entered the flat with his gun drawn. Since it was just one room, he had quickly cleared it. "What a mess! And what's that smell?"

Ryan walked around, "I'd say five day old take away not stored in the fridge. Chinese, if you ask me."

"Yeah, smells like a dead dog alright." Frank walked around while Ryan prepared his camera. "Is there anything we're looking for in specific?"

"Indeed. Q-Tips and anything that could provide the DNA of a third person involved, like vaginal fluid, saliva, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Well, if you're looking for Q-Tips, I suggest the bathroom. Or, as I will call it from now on, that little room in there with the over flooded toilet and with no window."

Ryan gave the bathroom a look, "This is disgusting. And I have seen a lot of disgusting things in my life."

"Get over it, kiddo. The faster you're done here, the faster we can go and nail the bastard."

Ryan had to admit Frank had made a point. He scanned the flat thoroughly, and got lucky under the bed. "Now, look what I found!"

Frank answered, "A dead animal? A dead person?"

Ryan crawled deeper under the bed, "Nope. I found a box of Q-Tips. _Our _Q-Tips. The ones we have usually."

"So?"

"Valera told me our Q-Tip firm had delivery issues; that's why we got the new ones." He got back out, covered in dust. "That's revolting." He checked the box. "Unopened."

"What's that mean?"

Ryan frowned as he usually did when he was thinking. "Walton must have had access to our Q-Tips. Do you know how they are delivered?"

"Truck."

"Okay, so, he must have gotten to the truck. But then again, there's only one box here. Where did the rest go?"

Frank shrugged, "Don't know. Wait, I call Valera and ask her." He took out his cell phone and called Valera. "Maxine? It's Tripp. Yeah. Listen. Your Q-Tips come with a truck, right? Yah. We found one box of your regular Q-Tips here, but we're missing the rest… I see. So, you got a truck full of new Q-Tips? And nightshift, too? Okay. Yeah, thanks." He hung up. "She got a truckload. So did the nightshift."

Ryan bit his lip. "Okay. But this not of our concern right now. I'm sure we'll find them. What we need is proof that Walton was the one to compromise the Q-Tips with Mame's DNA. So, we need Mame's DNA." He looked around. "Nothing."

Frank ran a hand over his bald head, "Are you sure we're looking at the right place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he cannot exactly store truckloads of her blood here. The fridge is broken."

Ryan nodded, "True that, but we're not talking blood, we're talking epithelials, saliva, anything colourless. We could try the dumpsters."

"Or, we ask your little friend how her guy could have gotten her DNA."

Ryan grinned, "And people say you're getting old."

* * *

Ryan sat down opposite Mame two hours later. By now, Mame had turned from the self confident woman he had known into a wreck. "Please tell me you found something to clear me."

Ryan nodded, "I think we did. We found your DNA on some unused Q-Tips that were delivered by the firm your ex-boyfriend works for. We found his fingerprints on a box of our regular Q-Tips. Now, we need to find out how your DNA ended up on the prepared Q-Tips. But first of all, do you know if Walton owns any large storage place?"

Mame thought about it, "No, I don't think so."

"Okay. Now, how could Walton have gotten your DNA?"

Mame sighed, "He lived at my place before we split up. But I doubt he could have…" Then suddenly, her eyes opened up wide. "That night when I returned from Ron's party… I think somebody was in my flat when I was gone."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, it was just a feeling I had. I think the curtains were misplaced, and some little things looked different from how I remembered them. I thought it was just a feeling, but now…"

Ryan nodded. "We'll find that out." He got up, left the room, and gave Natalia a call. "'Talia? Can you go over to Mame's flat and check for any signs of forced entry? Yeah? Thank you."

* * *

Natalia came back with the result an hour later. Both she and Ryan sat down in front of Mame again. "Congratulations. You're cleared."

Ryan could literally see the weight being lifted from Mame's heart. "Really?"

Natalia shower her a picture, "This is the lock of your front door. The traces are small, but they're there. Somebody entered your flat." She showed another picture. "This is your bed frame. I found a cotton fibre. Your ex boyfriend swabbed your bed frame. The wood is perfect for finding epithelial cells. That's where he got them from."

Mame shook her head, "I can't believe it. That he would really do all this."

Ryan couldn't help but felt a twinge of pity, mixing with sheer relief. Not only was Mame innocent, it also meant she never tried to use him. "I'm sorry. But the good thing is, you're cleared. You're free to go."

"And that's exactly what I will do now. Thank you. Both of you." She got up and shook both Natalia's and Ryan's hand.

When she had left, Ryan's cell phone rang, "Yeah, Wolfe? Frank. You found what? Where? I see. What made you go back there? Valera? She found what? Yeah, okay, I'm coming." He hung up. "Now, look at this. Our lab rat Valera did some digging of her own."

"What did she do?"

"She swabbed the box the Q-Tips came in. She remembered that on Wednesday, the delivery of the Q-Tips that was supposed to come, was postponed to Thursday, and concluded that our guy got his hands on the truck before he managed to get his prepared Q-Tips to the lab. So, she swabbed the box she had and brought her findings to Travers, who detected gasoline and ash."

Natalia's face turned into a wide grin, "The old house that had burned down. Our first crime scene."

"Exactly. Tripp went back to the scene and found the remainders of a box. Remember, we found it too, but thought they belonged to the owner."

Natalia nodded, "Yeah. Now it all makes sense. Chris Walton decided to revenge himself on Mame because she dumped him. So he sabotaged the delivery. I talked to one of the guys at our firm earlier, and they said somebody from the lab called Fulana Perez- and I tell you, that joke is getting really old- has signed for the delivery. But apparently, it never reached our storage room. In the meantime, he broke into Mame's flat and swapped her bed frame. The next day, he delivered his Q-Tips to us, telling us our regular firm had delivery issues and they had asked his firm to jump in."

"How do you know that part?"

"Valera told me this morning when I asked her about it. We should seriously listen to our lab rats more often. Anyways, he then destroyed the evidence which would incriminate him in the house. So, everything was good, and he knew we would find Mame's DNA on it." She breathed out. "The case is over."

Ryan noticed he felt relieved too. "Yeah, it's over." He got up. "Can I leave the paperwork to you? There's something I wanna do."

"You wanna visit Nicole, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Somebody needs to tell her how the case turned out."

"True. Say hello to her from me and Maxine."

* * *

**Ah, everything's good now. **

**About the epilogue: Gooniegirl3333 says she's looking forward to the chapter when Ryan visits Nicole in the hospital. Now, I never planned to do a chapter about that. After all, Nicole is just an OC, and like you, I hate when a story is too much focused on an OC. I wanted to do it Miami style and just forget about her like Speed and Jesse were forgotten by the writers. But if many of you say that they want a Ryan visits Nicole in hospital chapter too, I will of course do it. Please take your time when you review and just say Yay or Nay. **


	12. Chapter 12

**The majority has spoken. Here is the "Ryan visits Nicole in hospital" chapter. I tried to not make it sickenly sweet. ^^**

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1. Plus, I don't own _Get smart_ or _Curse of the Ring_, or Brunhild

* * *

**Epilogue**

He closed the door behind himself, noticing his fingers were trembling. He hated things like this. Lucky enough, there hadn't been many instances where he had to visit one of his friends in hospital. Calleigh. He had visited her twice when she had been here. When all of them had feared for her life after her lungs had collapsed. When she had been on the verge of death. She had come back, more powerful than ever, and cheerful as ever.

And then there had been Delko. When he had been shot for the first time, a hit ordered by Clavo Cruz. It had been a moment Ryan would never forget. It had been one of the rare occasions in his life where he had been close to tears. Seeing his friend and co-worker lying on a bed, already flat lined once, and with nobody who could tell him whether he would come back had been one of the moments that had burned themselves into his memory.

He remained leaned against the door, just like he had remained leaning against the door when he had been watching Delko. Alexx had told him what had happened to Nicole. She had been in a fight at some point of that fatal night. Fight bites on her hands proved it. Frank, who was out to hunt Chris Walton down, would confirm later that Walton was missing a tooth. She had fought, but it hadn't saved her from being knocked down, beaten up and shot. Ryan clenched his fist so tightly the knuckles turned white. The bastard had beaten her up when she had been completely helpless. He hoped, and knew, Frank would let Walton feel the anger of the whole team.

He now moved closer to the bed. Alexx had taken care of Nicole's wounds. Now that all the blood had been washed away, it didn't even look that bad anymore. Her face was scratched and her lip split. Her head was bandaged, but at least the bullet was out. Calleigh was right now taking a look at it. She would come up with a result that would nail Walton. He knew it.

He sat down on a chair next to the bed. His voice was hoarse when he started, "Hey, Nic. I… I just wanted to tell you we cracked the case. You were wrong. Mame was innocent. No need for you to sing that song anymore." He smiled a bit. "Now, listen. Alexx told me nobody knows if you'll wake up again. But I know. Travers knows too. Now, the only thing we need now is for you to know you'll wake up again. Take your time. You need the rest. But don't even think of pulling a Sleeping Beauty on us. You're not gonna be here for a hundred years. Not even for one year." He licked his dry lips. "You probably saved Mame's life. It's possible he would have killed her if you hadn't been there. I just wanted you to know that. Maybe it helps you to wake up." He smiled bitterly, "That sounds like you alright. Just after I told you what happened to me, you just decide to get yourself trashed and then take a nap. That's your idea of funny, right? Let me tell you something, Nicole. You need to wake up. I know this is definitely not some stupid scene from a movie, because you're not gonna wake up in the next seconds…" He raised his head and looked at her. She didn't move. "See, that's what I mean. If this was a movie, you would be looking at me, smiling and wondering why I'm talking such crap."

He hesitated, but then placed his hand on hers. It felt surprisingly warm. "Listen, Nicole. I know you can hear me. Alexx told me. And I want you to listen carefully to what I'm saying now. You can't leave. Remember, Nicole Ferguson doesn't take shit from anybody. You have proven that so many times. Like with Shona. Remember Shona? The spider? You didn't take shit from her. Or from the guy who shot at you both. Remember Father O'Shanahan? You didn't take shit from him. And you won't take shit from Chris Walton, you hear me?" He ran his fingers over hers. "What are Frankie and the cats gonna do without you? And Valera? Natalia? Travers? There's nobody who jokes around with Walter anymore." He bit his lip and got up. "I'll be back soon. I'll visit you as often as I can. And I know at some point, you will sit in bed upright in bed when I come in and smile at me, with your pink curlers in your hair and a cat on your lap."

He heard a giggle from the door and turned around. Natalia was standing in the door frame. She was smiling, "You know I told her the exact same thing this morning?" She walked over to the bed and sat on the chair next to Ryan. "I've been listening to you for quite a while now. I'm sure you're right."

"Of course I am. Agent 99 didn't die either."

Natalia laughed, "Oh, yeah, Agent 99. Her big role model. She always said that the perfect cop would be like Agent 99 and Brunhild."

"Brunhild? The valkyrie?" Ryan frowned.

But Natalia nodded, "Yeah. Since she's seen _Curse of the Ring_ for the first time, she always said that Brunhild was one hell of a woman. And that it would be cool to be like Brunhild. Valera and I actually have a bet running whether she will ask Travers to beat her in a swordfight first before she allows him to marry her. And, remember the case with the Japanese? I could barely stop her from running around with the Katana and pretending she was fighting King Gunther." She was laughing, but now tears started to fall from her eyes.

Ryan laid his arm tentatively around Natalia's shoulders; if she was anything like him, she would shove him away. He couldn't stand people touching him when he was upset. But Natalia let him. He softly pulled her head to his shoulder and listened to her sobbing, "Hey, don't worry. I told her she can't just leave. And I tell you, I could practically hear her saying 'Yeah, right, like this city would survive a day without me'." He heard Natalia chuckle through the tears. "And you know she always keeps her promises. Like Brunhild. I guess."

Natalia nodded, "But it's just… It all happened so fast. You know, yesterday at this time, Maxine, Nicole and I made plans to go to New York next month. And now…"

Ryan sighed deeply. He was out of ideas to cheer Natalia up. So he just said, "I know it's hard. For everybody. But we can't do a thing now. We have to trust the doctors here, and hope that Nicole is strong enough to win this fight."

"You're right…" Natalia sat up straight again and dried the tears from her face. She then laid her hand on Nicole's and said, "I finished the paper work for our case. If Frank manages to get Walton, he'll go down for arson and false accusation. And attempted murder on a police officer." She whispered, "Nikki, you hear me? Attempted murder on a police officer. Not murder."

Ryan nodded, "It will remain attempted murder. Believe me." He breathed in, and suddenly said, "Natalia. We have forgotten something."

She looked at him, "What?"

"We know Walton killed Jose Moreira when he burned his house down. And we know he tried to kill Nicole. But what about Jeffrey Donald and Oscar Garcia? The deep freeze and the Miami quake victim?"

Natalia frowned and said, "You're right."

"Who killed them?"

* * *

**Mh. Yeah, who killed them, actually? Walton only prepared the Q-Tips, but somebody else killed them. We'll find out in due time :D**

**Okay, this is the End of _Put the Blame on Mame._**** I wanna thank you all for your reviews, for putting this story to your various lists. I hope I was able to entertain you. Thanks also to my silent readers. **

**The next story is already planned out, so you might have a new story from me soon.**

******Peace and Love, yours Fergie. **


End file.
